


Diego's Taxi Service

by LiviJoyann



Category: The Umbrella Academy (TV)
Genre: Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Domestic Fluff, Drug Addiction, Drug Use, Family, Family Feels, Flashbacks, Fluff and Angst, Fluff and Humor, Hurt Diego Hargreeves, Hurt Klaus Hargreeves, Hurt/Comfort, Implied/Referenced Character Death, Injury, Memories, Near Death Experiences, One Shot, Past Drug Use, Reginald Hargreeves' A+ Parenting, Sibling Bonding, Teenagers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-26
Updated: 2019-06-26
Packaged: 2020-05-20 06:19:08
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,689
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19371136
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LiviJoyann/pseuds/LiviJoyann
Summary: Klaus reflects back on that awful night 14 years ago that reminded him of why Diego never truly would turn him down for a ride.





	Diego's Taxi Service

"Are- Are we leaving?"

"No.  _I'm_ leaving. Me, by myself."

"Oh,  _Fabulous!_ I'll get my things."

Klaus watched Diego as he walked away, making sure he didn't offer any more protests. He didn't. Of course, he didn't. There was a very good reason for that too, and a not-so-happy memory attached to it.

Not for the first time since returning home for the first time in years, Klaus was unwillingly taken back to that day that Diego became his forever-chauffeur… The day that both he  _and_ Number Two would reluctantly look back on every time Klaus asked for a ride- the reason that Diego would never truly turn him down, no matter how inconvenient it was.

* * *

Back then, Klaus was just barely pushing 16. He was awkwardly thin and gangly with shorter but equally messy hair, no trace of any facial hair and constantly hyped on an endless supply of fidgety, excitement and overzealous energy. Dare he say that back then, he bothered his siblings even  _more_ than now- to a point that he wouldn't even have the stamina for present-day.

16 years… That would've meant that Ben hadn't died all too long ago. That had been Klaus's gateway into some of the more serious "stuff", trying anything anyone offered him to try or buy. And with Klaus's tendency to wander and wiggle his way into meeting people everywhere he went, he was offered quite an array of different "treats".

But tonight was special. Tonight, already coming down from some Mary Jane and molly, someone brought out coke and Klaus had never tried coke. He bought some with the money that he had come by when selling some of Allison's items (he wasn't proud of it, but now that she was becoming "famous", even her fucking  _socks_ were worth a damned fortune), excited to try a new way of numbing himself- of forgetting the ghosts.

Ben looked at him funny, obviously disappointed. This was not new though. That face of utter disapproval might as well have been Ben's new resting face with the number of times he wore it around Klaus these days.

"Hop off my dick." Klaus jabbed at his brother's ghost. Ben just shook his head and walked away. His new thing was leaving Klaus alone when he fell into some of the harder drugs.

" _Do what you want but I won't be a part of this shit."_ He'd tell him.

Fine by Klaus.

Number Four hurried home that night, excited to try what he saw the people do in movies. His connection- a guy who often frequented at the club he liked to hang around and who always seemed to have a bottomless pit of fun indulgences- had given Klaus a quick rundown on how to use the cocaine.

"Not rocket science. Line it up all nice and pretty and take somethin' like a rolled bank note or whatnot. Quick inhale- right down the line. Got it? Good. Enjoy, my friend."

Line it up, roll the paper, inhale. No biggie. To be perfectly honest, Klaus was kind of nervous. He had never "snorted" anything before, but the slight buzz from the weed was able to calm some of his high tension regarding the matter.

Line, roll, inhale .

Klaus emerged from the basement feeling damn  _good_ that night. This was brand new territory for him. Usually, he took downers- things to make him feel nice and fuzzy and drowsily giggly. This was… this was  _fantastic_ though. He felt like he wanted to- to- to punch a hole through the wall. He wanted to scream for hours. He wanted to pick up cars like Luther or- or- or- scale building like Spiderman.

Most of all, he wanted to go out with his siblings. He didn't know why. He just wanted to go and  _do_ something, do  _anything_.

"Please, please, please,  _PLEASE._ Pleeeeeeaaaaseeee." Klaus begged as he waltzed around the living room, shaking Diego as he tried to have a civilized conversation with Allison… Something boring about the last mission or saving people or whatever.

"Give it a rest Klaus. We aren't going bowling. It closes in twenty minutes anyway." Diego said, his face steely and unamused. If Klaus was in a right state of mind, he would've been able to tell that his brother was just teetering on the edge of breaking and turning around to pop Klaus upside the head for some peace and quiet.

"Okay! That's okay! No bowling? No biggie, big guy. No biggie. What about pizza? Oh. My. GOD. I've always wanted to try macaroni pizza. You know that place, Allie? Down the street? Please, please, pleeeeeaaaaaasee-"

"Are you shaking?" Diego suddenly asked, anger dropped and replaced with a new accusing curiosity.

"No, silly.  _You're_ shaking." Klaus said, still thrusting Diego's body back and forward. Stupid, Diego. Klaus gave Allison a look and "pfft-ed" as if to say,  _can you believe this guy_?

Number Two slapped Klaus's hands away from his grip on his shoulders, grabbing them the next second. Suddenly, Klaus saw what he was talking about. He  _was_ trembling but it was a good trembling- like huge waves of energy coursed through his body and he couldn't possibly contain it with still hands. It was like happiness was shaking him to his core.

"Oh yeah." Klaus chirped happily.

"What are you on?" Diego asked, turning cold, hard eyes up to Klaus's own. Klaus pulled his hands away and threw his head back.

"Give it a rest, **bub**." Klaus said, giggling at the way the word bub exploded from his mouth. "Please, guys. I just want some-"

"Unbelievable. It's a fucking Tuesday night, dude. Where are you getting this shit?"

"Leave me alone."

"Leave  _me_ alone!"

"Fine!"

" _Fine_!"

Who needed them anyway. Klaus sighed dramatically, walking off to retire to his room. He probably had about 25 minutes left of his high before life would suck again, or so his angsty teen-mind reminded him.

But why should he let his siblings decide what he did? They weren't even that  _fun_ anyway. Ever since Five disappeared and Ben died, Diego hardly ever even smiled anymore. The only thing he was interested in was working out and trying to one-up Luther on missions. The only time Klaus saw his brother show any bit of interest in anything was when he picked fights with people over small things that sparked his hot-temper- Frankly, it happened quite often.

Klaus thought that ever since Diego overcame his stutter, he had become kind of a dick. Still though, he was better company than Allison at times who was slowly becoming self-consumed by eating up every bit of attention she could. Her and Klaus used to get along fairly well before they lost Numbers Five and Six, but since then, all she could talk about was getting on the front of the next "Seventeen" magazine or getting on "Good Morning America".

So Klaus was better off on his own anyway. He'd get that fucking pizza. He'd get it and rub it in their faces (not literally, although the thought made him giggle) and then they'd be jealous. They'd wish they had come with him. They'd wish they'd made time for him.

Jerks. No one ever wanted to hang out anymore.

So how was he gonna do this?  _Technically_ , only Diego, Luther, and Allison had their licenses so far. Vanya was working on it, and Klaus was kind of on pause seeing that he was constantly high these days. He had experience though- sometimes, if he was sure that he was sober enough, Diego would take Klaus out in an empty parking lot or empty street and let him do some driving.

So, with that knowledge and the fact that Klaus was feeling an insane amount of confidence at the moment, he took Dad's keys and bounded out of the house, feeling like he was so light on his feet that he might as well have been an astronaut on the moon.

This was a good idea. Pizza, here he comes.

* * *

Diego knocked on Klaus's door, trying to listen in for signs of his radio playing like it often did into the wee hours of the morning. Sometimes, Diego would wake in the middle of the night and stomp over to his door, pounding his fist and yelling at his brother to turn it down. Klaus would groan from behind the door but would turn the volume to an acceptable level.

"Klaus! Get out here- I have your laundry."

Diego did in fact hold a giant bundle of newly cleaned clothes that Mom had asked him to run up to Klaus's room on his way upstairs.

"Klaus!"

The door  _was_ slightly cracked, so Diego took that as a sign that he was fine to kick it completely open. He did so, but to an empty room. Diego walked in and threw his clothes in a heap on the already-messy floor.

Hm… He could've sworn he was up here.

Shrugging it off, Diego walked to his own room, passing Luther in the hallway. His brother looked tired and worn, that same expression of intense concentration on his face like it always was these days.

"You seen Klaus?"

"No. Why?"

"Nothing, I don't know. He was hopped up on something."

"What's new?"

"Yeah…"

Diego was going to leave it at that, not entirely in the mood to have a conversation with Luther, but his brother turned back and added, "Hey- Did you take the car out and park it somewhere else?"

Diego spun around, shooting Luther a cynical glare.

"Why would I do that?"

"It's just- It's not in the driveway."

"Maybe Allison headed somewhere."

"No, she's in her room."

"Well, then Dad,  _Luther_. I don't know what to-"

"Dad's in his office."

Diego froze. Okay… So maybe that was a little weird. Dad barely let them take the car out as it was, but when he did, it was only Diego, Luther, and Allison who were permitted seeing as they got their licenses not too long ago.

A sudden gripping realization tore through Diego's chest.

"You don't think… You don't think-"

"Klaus?" Luther finished his thought. Diego's heart beat harder in his chest.  _No, no, no, no…_

"…he's high as fuck." Two muttered, looking at Luther with wide eyes who just mirrored his expression right back.

"What do we-"

"Stay here and cover for me. I'm taking the junker." Diego said, already tearing down the steps en route to the garage. They had an old car that was on its last legs that no one was allowed to use. It was stowed in the garage under a dirty sheet that hadn't been removed in over a year. Dad always talked about selling the thing for parts, but he never took the strides to actually do so. Diego had always suspected that the piece of crap held some hint of sentimental value for Reginald, if his father could even feel that kind of thing.

"Diego, wait! I should come-"

"You'll just slow me down!" Diego shouted back, not particularly wanting to deal with Luther's bullshit in his current frenzied state.

_Klaus, you fucking idiot._ Diego thought, knowing deep down that focusing on his anger was easier than addressing the intense fear of finding Klaus dead- the fear that deep down, was consuming Diego with each passing second.  _You better pray you've got your drugs to numb the pain after I beat your dumb-ass._

* * *

The music was so blaring so loud, but sometimes to Klaus, it'd seem like it was far away. So, he would turn it up louder, his ears splendidly ringing. Due to the sudden overwhelming sensation of being overheated, Klaus had all of the windows open. Plus, he liked the feeling of the wind stinging his face and whipping loose strands of hair against his forehead.

The lights were pretty bright all around him… Okay, so the lights were  _blinding_. Klaus didn't entirely mind though- it reminded him of a club he liked to go to in order to get smashed and forget everything. This was fun, Klaus was having fun- all without his stupid siblings.

He shot over a curb, the car whipping him to the side, but Klaus chalked it up to just a small instance of being distracted. He was fine- the  _best_ driver in fact… The best driver in the world, probably.

Klaus laughed at himself, pulling back onto flat road once more and flying through a yellow light turning red. A car honked at him from the perpendicular street, but the sound didn't even register over the sound of "The Clash" singing "Should I Stay or Should I Go".

Suddenly the music was  _REALLY_  loud but he couldn't see past the oncoming cars' headlights to the volume knob. Every time Klaus tried to take a second to reach for it, he'd feel the car start veering off to one side or the other. His eyes would snap back to the dark road in front of him and his hand would automatically jerk the wheel back in line.

Each time he did it, a rush of sweet adrenaline tore through his chest.

"Whoopsie." He'd whisper, a small smile creeping up on him that scared even himself.

At the last second, Klaus turned onto an empty road to regain his thoughts and hopefully turn the music down without crashing. The street was deserted which was probably a good thing. Klaus was pretty comfortable in the driver's seat still, but he didn't want to push it.

Before Klaus could even think about reaching for the volume button, a red blinking light distracted him. It was far off in the inky black distance like a tiny, long-lost beacon begging for him to come and get it. Every time it flashed, it was if it was taunting him further and further, begging him to reach it.

Klaus  _had_ to know what it was.

He accelerated… accelerated some more. There were street lights on either side of him every twenty yards or so. Klaus remembered driving down this road with Diego on multiple occasions and knew that the lights on the street were considerably dim. Now though- now they might as well have been harnessing the power of the goddamn sun. Every time he passed underneath one, his mind would explode into a flash of white before fading back to reality again.

The volume still blared- Now the radio was playing "Dancing Queen" by Abba. Klaus faintly remembered bugging the shit out of Ben with the song when they were much younger, knowing that he  _hated_ Abba. Klaus didn't know why anyone would ever hate Abba.

Where was Ben anyway? Either he was purposefully leaving Klaus alone, disapproving of his behavior or Klaus was too high to even see him.

_Blink. Blink._

Damn… Was that red light running  _away_ from him? It was somehow so majestic- the only being in a sea of black.

_FLASH. FLASH._

The street lights passed over him faster now, not unlike strobe lights. Klaus didn't notice.

"… _HAVING THE TIME OF YOUR LIIIIFE…"_  The radio screamed.

Oh yeah… Too loud. It was still much too loud.

But one more reach for the knob and that was it. Before Abba could launch into the second verse of Dancing Queen, Klaus's world was quite literally turned upside down.

~X~

Diego almost missed him because he was turned off on a road that wasn't on the way to macaroni pizza place. The wreckage and light post bent in half was hard to miss though. Diego parked and flew out of the car, running to the driver's side of the wreckage that couldn't even be distinguished as Dad's car anymore.

There were giant, jagged shards of plastic and metal jutting out at all different angles, the exterior of the vehicle crinkled like it was nothing but tin foil crumpled up to be thrown away after use. Glass glittered dully all over the ground, including glass from the street light that hit the pavement after it snapped in half from the impact of Klaus slamming into it.

"Klaus!" Diego yelled helplessly, his mind racing as he tried to analyze the situation and find the best way to get in there without jostling the wrong piece of debris, potentially injuring Klaus more than he already was.

Because he was just that- just injured. Not dead, no way. There was just no fucking way in hell that his brother's dead body was in there. No. He was fine.

A fleeting thought shot through Diego's head like a mean, debilitating bullet.

_Now there are only four of us left. Ben's dead. Five's disappeared. And now, Klaus…_

Diego crushed that idea as soon as it came. He couldn't help but wonder if there was some kind of external power that was out to get his family though because it was starting to feel real fucking personal.

"Klaus! C'mon, dude…"

Diego approached quickly but carefully, somehow distinguishing the faint characteristics of a steering wheel in the mess before him. A steering wheel and then…

"Shit…" Diego whispered. A hand, lifeless and covered in dark liquid.

_If I had just gone with him…_

_SHUT UP._

Diego's mind argued with itself. He couldn't get caught up in the if's and but's and guilt though. Not right now.

In a trance, Diego raised shaky hands towards the remain of a door. He tugged it lightly, hearing the painful screech and groan of metal. His heart jumped, waiting for everything to just collapse right there, but it held steady. He pulled again.

The crushed door flew off onto the road, skidding a foot away. Diego was left to the slightly obscured sight of the side of Klaus's face, his body still held upside down by the power of his seatbelt (thank  _CHRIST_ he even wore a seatbelt) and the dashboard that was smashed inwards towards his chest.

"Klaus!" Diego tried again. He's just unconscious… just unconscious.

Pulling a knife from the strap around his waist, Diego went in on the seatbelt, taking no time to saw his way through the fabric. As soon as it snapped, Klaus slumped further towards the ground, but not much. Whatever clutter on debris that was mashed in front of him was keeping him from tumbling fully to the ground.

"Hey. Klaus." Diego muttered softly, slapping at his face lightly. Nothing.

With no other option and the  _need_ to know for sure that there was still life in this stupid, reckless, fucking idiot he called a brother, Diego pulled him out. Even as slowly and timidly as he did it, the car collapsed further. Klaus's last limb, his right leg, made it out just in time before being crushed underneath its weight.

Thank the lord this kid was as twiggy as he was. Diego hooked his arms underneath Klaus's and dragged him back away from the car fairly easily, amazed that he wasn't simply just snapped in half in the crash.

Diego dropped his brother on his back at the side of the road, hurriedly kneeling by his lifeless face. There was blood above his right eyebrow, trailing down his arm, and soaking through the side of his shirt. In the darkness, Diego couldn't tell how serious his injuries were though.

Number Two tried to slap Klaus awake. He stared, hoping even for just an eyelash flutter at the least.

"You're  _fine_." Diego ordered harshly, trying to convince himself more than anyone. He pressed a shaking hand to Klaus's neck, feeling for a pulse with two fingers. "You're fine or else I'll kill you, you understand? If you die right here on the side of this road, I'll fucking kill you."

Klaus woke up.

* * *

He remembered it terribly vividly- the terror rippling through his chest as lights spun aggressively in his vision and gravity suddenly had no laws. Klaus would never know or remember, but it was all due to an old armchair that had fallen off of someone's truck in the middle of the road that he subconsciously went to dodge.

The crack that still danced through his bloodstream had stretched everything out. Every feeling, vision, and sense heightened, including his fear. Every time the car connected and reconnected with the ground, a  _BAM_ louder than a shotgun blast tore through Klaus's head. He suffered through those 4 eternity-long seconds, waiting for the next  _BAM_ to be his last.

As it turns out, that wouldn't be until the car smacked into the nearest light post, stopping the deathly roll. Right before darkness, Klaus would always remember the strange, small breath of peace and relief.

Next thing he knew, this jackass was slapping him awake.

"You okay?" Diego's voice drifted into his brain above the fading high-pitched whine. Klaus was much too jumbled to speak. He couldn't even form words in his head. All he knew was the adrenaline coursing through his veins and shaking him to his core.

When he managed to blink his eyes open, a sensory overload exploded. Even the dim distance of the next-nearest streetlight sent shooting pains through his head. Diego's voice was the loudest thing in the vicinity, adding to his headache, but it seemed as if the crickets and distant traffic was all too poignant and demanding than it realistically should've been.

Not able to process his brother's crazed pestering quite yet, Klaus turned eyes to look at the car- or what was left of it. Had he been  _in_ that?

Holy shit… He was fucked.

" _KLAUS! Are you okay?_ " Diego demanded his attention. Klaus hesitantly looked at Diego but turned away quickly. His brother's terrified and furious glare was enough to send intense waves of guilt through his chest and he didn't need that shit right now.

Was he okay? He  _thought_ so. Klaus wouldn't know until later when the adrenaline wore off, but as it turned out, he had a broken wrist, fractured rib, and a cut in his side and along his hairline that would warrant 37 stitches total between the two. For now though, he didn't feel that pain. For now, he was just really,  _really_ fucking terrified.

Klaus found it in him to nod shakily in response to his brother.

"Good."

Then, Diego punched him in the nose. He  _PUNCHED_ him in the nose! Like he needed any more physical injuries.

At least it was enough to shock Klaus back into responsiveness.

"AH! Diego!" He protested, his hand flying up to hold the bridge of his nose where pain was erupting and blood escaped from. His hand was instantly met with warm liquid and his body curled in on itself on his side.

_Asshole._

"WHAT WERE YOU THINKING?  _WHAT_  WERE YOU THINKING?" Diego grabbed his shoulders and pulled him out of his pained huddle.

"I- I don't know!"

Hands gripped the fabric of his shirt above his chest and suddenly Klaus had a whole other type of fear overtaking his nerves- the fear that his most hot-tempered sibling might kill him right here on the spot.

A flare of pain shot up Klaus's spine as Diego yanked him up and shoved him against the part of the light post that was still standing, his eyes less than a foot from Klaus's face and nearly causing pain simply in the way that they drilled through him.

"That's  _not_ good enough. Look at me!" Diego pulled and shoved against Klaus's chest again, slamming his back against the hard surface behind him and shocking Klaus back into the eye-contact he tried to shy away from. Klaus was very aware of how badly he was shaking and was quite certain that Diego could feel it against the fists twisted in his shirt, holding him up against the streetlight. His brother didn't seem to really care. "You can shove this shit in your body. You can pretend to not give a shit. You can numb yourself from everything that's important, that's fine. But,"

Klaus made the mistake of glancing back at the wreckage in the middle of Diego's quite terrifying lecture. He couldn't help it- this was a new, shocking level of destruction that was surprising even for Klaus.

" _HEY_!" Diego bellowed, making Klaus jump and obediently turn his eyes back. " _LOOK AT ME_. You do  _NOT_  drive while doing so. Okay? That's stupid. So  _fucking_  stupid. Are you stupid?"

Klaus shrunk back against the post, despite the fact that there was a knobby projection on the surface that was digging into his back. His mind was still as fucked as the car currently was, every ounce of his usual charisma and irritating wittiness completely gone.

"I don't know…" He answered reluctantly in a small voice.

"Look at this!" Diego continued, and Klaus knew that nothing he said would be the right answer tonight. He's seen Diego mad countless times, but this had to take the cake and that was horrifying. "What do you think that would've done to Allison? Or Vanya, or Luther if they had to sit with the fact that we lost you? That we had to say goodbye to another one?"

A pit formed in Klaus's stomach and his chest tightened around his frantically beating heart. Low blow. Going for the guilt card.

_Well congratu-fucking-lations, Diego. It's working._

Klaus noticed Diego didn't mention himself, most definitely trying to preserve his usual "macho" and remove his emotions from the situation, but it honestly just made the fact that Diego was personally scared even more obvious. Klaus knew deep down that Diego was using their other siblings as an alias for what he really meant as himself and how he would've been affected.

It was then that Number Four saw that Diego was mad, sure, but mostly he was, in fact, just plain terrified. That made two of them.

"That would've fucking crushed

_(Me)_

them! How could you be so selfish?"

Klaus despised the ball of pressure growing in his throat. He didn't know if it was still from the terror of nearly getting obliterated in a tumbling, steely death trap, his fear of his brother, or the true, unwilling shame he had, knowing that Diego was making extremely valid, biting points.

Maybe it was all of those things combined. Either way, it made it hard to speak. He could barely choke out words through the tightening of his airways.

"I don't know…"

" _STOP_  saying that!"

"What do-"

"Just tell me you won't drive. You'll come get me, or Luther, or whoever, okay? But,  _this-_ "

Diego turned and waved his hand towards the mess of car parts. Klaus glanced and then returned to his brother's dark eyes.

"-this doesn't happen again, understand? I swear to God, I will beat the living daylights out of you, tie you up and watch you suffer until you're sober. Then I'll beat the shit out of you again and throw your ass in rehab as a fucking vegetable. Get it?"

Klaus swallowed thickly and nodded, not doubting that threat for a second.

"I'll drive you wherever, okay? As long as you're high-as-hell-ass isn't being fucking dumb and driving yourself. You come get  _me_. Now, what are you going to do next time?"

Klaus thought that he had literally just  _tried_ to get Diego to drive him here in the first place, but he thought that was beside the point and Diego would  _not_ appreciate that.

"I- I- I-"

" _KLAUS_."

"I'll come get you! Okay? God, Diego…" Klaus finally found some connection from his mind to his mouth, the words coming out rushed and pleading.

"You swear?"

" _I swear_! I swear, for  _fuck's_  sake. I'll never drive again!" And that would actually hold true… Klaus had no desire to ever get behind the driver's seat again after what had just happened. In fact, the next time Klaus would drive was fourteen years later when he and Diego stole a certain ice cream truck.

Diego, seemingly satisfied enough, dropped Klaus and let him collapse to his knees. Klaus basically crumpled, bending over until his forehead touched the cool asphalt of the street. He wasn't sure if it was from the shock or from the dwindling side effects of the crack, but his stomach tightened into a knot and heat overcame his body.

Klaus shakily moved to the edge of the road by the grass just in time to get sick. He didn't have much but the alcohol he drank earlier in his stomach, but it all came up smoothly. It was like he threw up the heat from his body with it, a sudden, aching chill overtaking him and multiplying his bodily tremors times ten.

Klaus huddled over and hugged his seemingly thinner-than-usual arms around himself as he shook like a damned Chihuahua, that damn ball of pressure swelling in his throat again as unwilling tears jumped to his eyes.

He heard Diego sigh and saw his dark figure sit next to him out of the corner of his eye.

"Am I supposed to feel bad for you?" He asked tiredly with a hint of accusation.

Klaus didn't answer. He wasn't asking for his pity. The only thing that raced through his mind was the memory of the word flipping upside down before him and that moment of acceptance that he probably would die in that car. Diego's rant hadn't been too fun to wake up to either, shaking away any bit of stability that Klaus may have still contained.

A staggering breath hitched in Klaus's throat and that sent even further shocks of panic through him. He was  _sure_ that the crack had something to do with all of these heightened side effects and emotions. He wasn't quite sure why his heart was  _still_ trying to beat its way out of his chest or why he was freezing cold or why every muscle was rebelling against him and quaking violently.

Klaus's breaths became louder, quicker, and more labored.

_You baby… Stop freaking out, stop freaking out, stop freaking out._ He begged himself, making him bug out even more.

Luckily, Diego gave in beside him. A steady hand was suddenly on Klaus's back, the other one on his shoulder and gently pulling him up from where he bent over the ground.

"C'mon. Klaus." Diego instructed softly, his demeanor taken down a billion notches from before. Klaus let his brother move him to sit up again. Klaus slowly and shakily adjusted himself to be sitting on his butt next to Diego, his head bent over his knees that he had pulled to his chest. Still- those damned, panicked breaths racked through his chest and a hot tear escaped down his face. Klaus hurriedly sniffed and wiped it away. "C'mon, calm down. You're okay."

Diego wrapped an arm around his back, rubbing his shoulder as he had his moment. Did Klaus really want to rely on the comfort of the guy who he was  _just_ worried about being rage-murdered by?

Yes. Yes, that's exactly what Klaus wanted.

He leaned further into Diego, grateful for his warmth and just the touch of a living human to remind him that he too was still a living human. He was also grateful that his brother didn't jab at him for being pansy amidst his moment of panic. It could've been because for a second there, Diego may have been just as scared as Klaus was.

A while went by, and the effects wore off. Klaus didn't feel like his nerves were in a fiery, untamed frenzy anymore, and his breathing was able to be contained to a steady rhythm. The only problem with calming down was that his adrenaline was wearing thin, and that meant the pain started to settle. Still, it wouldn't fully take effect until they got home that night.

Diego gave Klaus's shoulder one last squeeze before he helped him up, keeping a hand on his arm until he was sure that Four could stand alone. Without a word, they both gave the wreckage one more look and started for the junker that was now the nicest car they owned by default.

"D- D- Dad's gonna filet my insides." Klaus mumbled, mentally rolling his eyes at how his words were still not coming out as smoothly as he would've liked.

_I caught Diego's stutter._ He thought, amusing himself just a bit before he remembered Dad again. The humor dissipated in a fraction of a second.

"Yeah. He's gonna be pissed." Diego agreed, climbing in the driver's seat and waiting for Klaus to drop into the passenger's. "I'll come with you to tell him but I don't know if that'll help much." He offered once they were both inside. His brother may have just threatened to leave him comatose for the rest of his life, but sometimes, Diego was alright.

Klaus let his head fall against the cool window, staring at the dark road that he would hate for the rest of his life.

"What if we don't? What if we… We go to Colorado. Live in the mountains. Always wanted to go to Colorado." Klaus mumbled, his mind starting to play out the only upcoming situation possible- his dad carving out his organs and eating them for supper.

Diego started the car.

"Keep dreaming, bud."

* * *

Klaus jumped into Diego's car.

"Hey! Diego."

Fourteen years later, his brother still kept his word as much as it irritated the grown vigilante. Klaus kept his word too, still flinching at the thought of that night- the memory of gravity saying "sayonara" or of Diego breaking his nose or of Dad just simply screaming " _OUT!_ " when Klaus admitted to everything. Reginald didn't even speak to Klaus for three days after the incident. Eventually, he sentenced him to a month of basically being a prisoner in the house, taking on  _everyone's_ chores for some of the longest weeks of his life.

"You know… Every time I close my eyes, I see a diarrhetic hippo about to shit on my face." Klaus slapped his hands on Diego's shoulders and shook him lightly, relishing the hesitant smile that broke out on Diego's face despite his clear annoyance. "It's terrifying!"

"Terrific."

What a guy.

**Author's Note:**

> Do I just think of Nathan Young when I think of teen-Klaus? Yes. Yes, I do. 
> 
> First one-shot of many! Still working on starting my Klave fic. More to come in the meantime.
> 
> Let me know what you guys think! Kind of nice to write some Diego&Klaus moments after doing so much Ben&Klaus.
> 
> If you're a big Klaus fan and still haven't read my other stories, check 'em out! The more Klaus fans, the merrier.


End file.
